BAY AND SEA DUCKS 207 



jonsidered desirable for the table, and collectors had a sufficient number, 

 at that time a pair being considered enough to represent a species in a 

 3ollection." 



The cause of this Duck's extinction is unknown. The last speci- 

 men, so far as known, was taken at Grand Menan in 1871. Forty-three 

 specimens have been recorded as existing in collections. 



1891. BUTCHER, W., Auk, VIII, 201-216; 1894. XI, 4-12 (history). 



STELLER'S EIDER (157. Polysticta stelleri], a North Pacific species, is 

 of accidental occurrence in Greenland and Quebec. 



159. Somateria mollissima borealis (Brehm). NORTHERN EIDER. 

 Ad. cf . Top of head black, a greenish white line on the crown; rest of head, 

 throat, neck, upper breast, back, scapulars and lesser wing-coverts white, 

 tinged with greenish on sides and back of head, and with vinaceous on 

 breast; middle of rump, upper and under tail-coverts, lower breast and belly 

 black. Ad. 9. Head, throat and neck buffy ochraceous, darker above and 

 streaked with black; back black, feathers all widely margined, and some- 

 times partly barred with buffy ochraceous; breast buffy ochraceous, barred 

 with black; belly grayish brown or olive-brown, indistinctly margined or 

 barred with buffy. Im. Similar, but distinctly marked with buffy. L., 

 23-00; W., ll'OO; Tar., 1'80; B., 2'10. 



Range. NE. N. Am. Breeds from Ellesmere Land and both coasts of 

 Greenland s. to nw.- Hudson Bay and s. Ungava; winters in s. Greenland 

 and s. rarely to Mass. 



Nest, on the ground, amid coarse herbage and rocks. Eggs, 5-8, pale 

 bluish or greenish, tinged with olive, 2'95 x 2'00. Date, Shertook Is., 

 Greenland, June 20. 



This is the American representative of the Eider Duck of northern 

 Europe, from which it differs only slightly. The highly prized Eider 

 down is taken from the nest of this bird and its allies. As incubation 

 progresses the sitting bird plucks the down from her breast to serve 

 as a nest lining. In Iceland, according to Saunders, the average yield 

 from each nest is about one-sixth of a pound. When the females begin 

 to sit the males leave them, and, gathering in small flocks, live at sea. 



160. Somateria dresseri Sharpe. AMERICAN EIDER. Resembles the 

 preceding in color, but differs in the feathering of the base of the culmen. 

 In both species the culmen is divided by a wedge of feathers reaching forward 

 from the forehead. Looked at from the tip of the bill, the base of the cul- 

 men is thus V-shaped. In dresseri the arms of the V are very broad and 

 rounded at the ends, while in borealis they are much narrower and generally 

 pointed at the ends. L., 23'00; W., 11'30; Tar., 1'70; B., 2'10. 



Range. NE. N. Am. Breeds from s. Ungava and N. F., to se. Maine, 

 and on the s. half of Hudson Bay; winters from N. F., and Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence s. on Atlantic coast, regularly to Mass., rarely to Va., and in 

 interior rarely to Colo., Iowa, Wise., Ohio, and w. N. Y. 



Long Island, rare W. V. Ossining, A. V., Dec. 



Nest, on the ground, generally sheltered by rocks. Eggs, 5-8, pale bluish 

 or greenish, tinged with olive, 3*00 x 2'00. Date, Labrador, June 5. 



This species nests from the coast of Maine northward, and is there- 

 fore a species of more southern distribution than the preceding, which 

 it resembles in habits. During their visits to the coasts of the United 

 States the Eiders are true Sea Ducks, living some distance off shore, 



